More Important Things
by ncfan
Summary: 20 Murder Princess drabbles and oneshots.
1. More Important Things

**Characters/Pairings**: Milano  
**A/N**: Okay, here is chapter one of _More Important Things_, a 20-chapter (it may possibly grow) series of drabbles and oneshots concerning _Murder Princess_. Most of them will be about Falis (my favorite character) and/or Alita, but some, such as this one, will be about other characters. Also, I refer to Falis and Alita consistently, except in dialogue or thoughts, by their original names before the switch. Requests are open (though I reserve the right to refuse them) and feedback is appreciated.  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Murder Princess_.

* * *

Another wave of pounding, like the sea crashing against rock or the end of the world, makes the great door shake. Dressed in clothes too fine for her, disturbingly soft against her skin, Milano Entolasia can't help but think that everything feels wrong.

She's so unused to these clothes. She's so unused to having her long, light brown hair loose down her back. She's unused to jewels. She's unused to soft velvet shoes as opposed to her usual stiff leather shoes. Above all else, Milano's unused to the sensation of standing in a great hall next to a dead king, waiting for the invaders to come. She's unused to waiting to die.

Her grandfather shoots a concerned look in her direction (_You can still flee if you wish; I would not blame you, and neither would Her Highness)_, and Milano merely shakes her head, though truth be told she is shaking in terror, her hands trembling beyond her ability to control them. A thin trickle of blood runs down her chin from where she has bitten into her lip.

Milano tells herself that she will be brave.

She remembers now, that when she and Princess Alita were children, only Prince Kaito could tell them apart from a distance. That was, of course, before Milano's blonde hair turned brown and her skin became freckled from exposure to the sun.

"_But I think your freckles look sweet!" Alita protests with a scandalized voice when Milano remarks, in soft tones to her mistress that freckles are generally considered unattractive among the elite class. That Alita thinks they look "sweet", however flattering that may be, doesn't change the fact that it's a sign of long amounts of time spent out in the sun—freckles mark her as a rough, peasant girl._

Will they notice now? Will they see her freckles and know that this can't be the Princess? They'll kill her either way, Milano knows, but the thing she fears most of all is that she will give Alita away and set the wolves on her because of her appearance.

_No_, Milano realizes grimly as the wood of the door starts to splinter. It won't be her freckles that will give her away. It will be her hair, the most saliently different feature from the actual Princess Alita that she possesses.

Milano Entolasia is going to die (And God only knows what the invaders might do to her _before_ they kill her).

Milano Entolasia is going to give her mistress away, and possibly be the death of her as well.

But Milano will be brave. Milano will die smiling.

She will do it for her mistress.

There are more important things than living, after all. And Princess Alita's life is far more important than her own.


	2. No Sword for Alita

**Characters/Pairing**: Alita, Kaito, Falis (mentioned)**  
Author's Note**: Alita's seven and Kaito's fifteen in this.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own _Murder Princess_.

* * *

Ruby eyes wide in her small face, Alita sits in what she thinks is a secure hiding place (a fragrant hydrangea bush), and watches her brother at his practice.

Kaito, tall, lanky adolescent, is transformed into a creature of deadly grace, gripping his sword. The gleaming metal flashes in the air and cuts through oxygen. Easily, so easily, Alita can see him striking down monsters, defeating every foe to cross his path.

Alita's awestruck expression only grows more so as she continues to watch. She does not smile—temporarily, she has forgotten how—only gapes, eyes and mouth open.

_How can I ever be worthy of him?_ Never has she felt more inadequate than she does now.

So lost in thought is Alita that she doesn't hear the grating noise of a sword being sheathed and she doesn't hear the footsteps on the cobblestone walk.

"Alita?" A hand is brushing away the lavender-pink flowers, Kaito is smiling gently and Alita's face is every bit as red as her prized eyes. She has been spotted, found out, discovered, and by the last person Alita wanted to be found by.

"Kaito! Brother!" Alita is flustered and grows even more so as Kaito puts an arm around her waist and draws her out of the bush and on to the walkway. "I was… umm… I was…" Alita ducks her head in shame at the sight of Kaito's twinkling eyes as he, down on one knee, runs a hand through her hair.

A conspiratorial laugh encourages Alita to smile ruefully. "Let me guess. You want a sword too?"

The young princess does not answer.

"I'm sorry, Alita, but you can't spend your days learning swordplay. There are other lessons that you must turn your mind to, things every bit as important for a princess as the art of war is for a prince. Do you understand?"

Alita wants to say that this isn't what she wants, that she has no interest in sword, but even though it's the truth she can find no words. She can only nod mutely, reluctantly.

Kaito takes her hand, leading her back into the palace. "Come on; it's nearly time for supper, anyway."

Alita, her eyes stinging with shame and inadequacy, can only follow in silence.

(Years later, Alita watches as Falis, wearing her body like a cloak, dances with her sword.

This girl would have been a match for Kaito. If only Alita could have been this girl.)


	3. He Was Full of Poison

**Characters/Pairings**: Kaito, Falis, onesided Kaito x Falis**  
A/N**: Okay, **Birdhouse in your Soul** got to it before I did, but just judging from the way she acted around him I find it hard to deny that Falis had some feelings for Kaito before he revealed himself as the nihilistic bastard that he is. As such, I'm going to be writing about that here.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Murder Princess.

* * *

Falis feels the blade of her Crane Princess and draws a deep sigh from her nostrils as her fingers run up and down the keen steel. No sign of chipping or rust, but the blade shows itself to be just a little dull.

Drawing a whetstone from a hidden fold of her voluminous skirt, Falis flops down gracelessly on a rock in the courtyard. Yes, she'll get grit and dirt on her white dress and yes Alita will be less than pleased, but Falis can't be bothered to give a damn about what her clothes look like. Why should she care if there's a stain on her skirt? At least she still has all her arms and legs.

At least she isn't languishing in some subterranean dungeon, waiting for the day when the axe will fall on her neck.

The whetstone pauses over her Crane Princess and Falis's pensive frown darkens into a black one, the beginnings of a snarl curling her lip back.

Kaito had seemed like a dream come true at first. He had arrived to save the kingdom like some white knight of old and Falis was free to resume her wanderings. He had arrived to relieve the bounty hunter of her obligations and Alita herself couldn't be happier.

He'd seemed like a dream come true in other ways, too, and Falis still curses herself for letting her guard down around him for a moment. She still curses herself for being flattered, for being charmed, for acting in all the ways she shouldn't have. Falis can see now just how glib Kaito's charm was and just how obvious it was that something was wrong with him. She should have been able to see straight past that kind, warm smile.

But she didn't.

Falis was just as charmed by Kaito as everyone else, and she had completely melted when even the smallest amount of attention was paid to her by him. That white knight was full of poison, and she couldn't see past the gentleness in his smile.

It's a fact: she was fooled, and Falis still feels the fool whenever she thinks of him.

The familiar dark sneer reveals itself on her full mouth and Falis draws the whetstone across the edge of the blade until her Crane Princess is keen enough to slice through silk fluttering to the ground.

Despite the way Alita would react, there are moments in which Falis wishes that she had killed Kaito in one of those moments when she had the opportunity.

Maybe that would absolve her of the treacherous feelings that come over her when she remembers what being embraced by him felt like.

(_Warm, safe, feeling so small in the arms of one much bigger than her. Falis still hates the way he made her feel.)_


	4. Within the Family

**Characters/Pairings**: Falis, Jodo, mentioned onesided Kaito x Falis**  
A/N**: I wondered about this.**  
Disclaimer**: I don't own Murder Princess.

* * *

"I _can_ read, if you were wondering."

When Jodo Entolasia learns that Falis has taken up haunting the library in her spare time, though he's surprised he can't say he's all that disapproving. Apparently her favorite quarry are the annals of Forland history; he counts that as a good thing. If she's going to be Queen, even if it's not a permanent arrangement (at least so Jodo hopes) it will be good for Falis to be learning the history of the kingdom she rules.

Jodo allows a mild smile—the worst of the brusque notes are out of Falis's voice for the moment; she's too absorbed in the dusty tome laid out on the table before her to really work up a temper. "I don't doubt that, your Highness."

The big question is _where_ did Falis learn to read? As Jodo understands the girl was born a peasant in a remote village; most of the people there never lay eyes on a book, let alone ever learn how to read and write. Just another mystery out of a woman who is anything but chatty concerning her own past.

"So what's up, Jodo?" Falis asks absently, flipping through pages and occasionally coughing at the dust.

Jodo takes the liberty of sitting in the chair opposite her; his leg's been aching lately (Jodo suspects the oncoming winter as the source) and Jodo doesn't like to have to stand for too long at a time. At least Falis doesn't stand on ceremony as much as a proper queen would. "I've heard that you have recently taken up the hobby of sifting through the annals of our kingdom."

Falis waves a hand in the air languidly. "The wars," she responds tersely. "Chroniclers spared no gory detail; it's interesting."

"Was there anything else?"

With that, Falis fixes eyes as hard and red as rubies on him and Jodo feels distinctly as though he's young again and he's just been sent to his superior to be punished for breaking protocol. "The genealogies," Falis answers simple. "Family trees and the like. I was wanting to ask you, Jodo. While I was looking at them I noticed something odd." Her expression is entirely too calm. "No one in the royal family has ever married a foreign noble; I was wondering why that is."

_Dear God, what a loaded question. _And what it is; Jodo immediately feels a headache coming on the heels of Falis's last word. He suspects he isn't going to have any easier a time explaining this to Falis than he did to Alita.

"Your Highness," Jodo starts off slowly, searching for words. "As you know, the body you currently inhabit—" _currently inhabit_ is spoken in a lowered voice with his hand clapped over his mouth; minimize the risk of spies learning anything valuable "—is the key to Te Oria, or was. This has been passed down among the eldest daughter of the royal family since the original generation.

"While a son for the royal family is considered an asset a daughter is an absolute necessity, since the key to Te Oria can only be received by a female body; why, we're not sure. As such, there must always be a daughter for the royal family, and the eldest daughter must always be Queen of Forland."

Falis frowns perplexedly. "But why was Kaito able to—"

Jodo cuts her off before she can finish that thought. "Your Highness, it was necessary that the bloodline be kept strong. As such, the eldest daughter was always married to a relative, usually a cousin. That cousin would become King, but sometimes a strong enough Queen would rule through her husband, using him as a puppet. It was always necessary to marry within the family."

A barking, humorless laugh echoes through the otherwise empty library. "Cousin marriage; what a novel concept." Falis refocuses her keen eyes on the butler. "So which first, second or third cousin are you planning on hitching me to, huh?"

This time, it can't be avoided. Jodo stares straight at her and tries to keep his voice steady. "There aren't any."

For a moment, Falis only stares uncomprehendingly at him. She's a callous girl but not quite so cynical that the answer comes to her immediately. _Well, this is surprising._

When her nose wrinkles unattractively and spots of red appear at the top of her cheeks to match her now-disgusted eyes, Jodo knows she's got it.

"She was going to have to marry her _brother_?" Falis hisses, mouth agape. "Marry him, screw him and have kids with him?"

"Actually, _you_ were," Jodo remarks coolly. "The wedding was set a month from his Highness's coronation, and let me assure you no one looked upon it as anything unusual. As I have said, your Highness, the eldest daughter must _always_ marry within the family."

"That's sick," Falis declares, and the sight of a hardened bounty hunter shaking her head in revulsion is enough that Jodo feels the insane urge to laugh.

Jodo frowns suddenly, remembering Falis's reactions to Kaito before he revealed himself as evil. "You wouldn't have minded it terribly though, would you?" he asks sharply, narrowing his eyes.

Falis looks away, and Jodo can tell he's taken a step past safe boundaries.

"No," she says quietly, closing the book. "I probably wouldn't have." Falis stands up and walks away; this conversation, she seems to say, is over.


End file.
